Resawing on the Bandsaw - a Simple Test for Parallel Results

With the fence clamped down, a 1/2” long cut is made at bandsaw table height

Without moving the fence, raise the thin scrap higher to check the relationship between fence and blade. This cut is shorter in length than the first cut.

The two cuts show that the fence is farther from the blade near the top. The bandsaw table can be tilted a little to account for the difference or the fence can be shimmed to move it closer to the blade at the top.

Shop Tip

Resawing - setting bandsaw blade and fence for perfect parallel cuts, top to bottom

Resawing a board is an important technique that places a board on edge to make it thinner as opposed to “ripping”, which is done by laying the board on it’s face and cutting with the grain direction. Resawing is often used to create book-matched or slip-matched patterns. It’s also helpful when simply needing to make a piece of wood thinner. And it’s especially helpful when making shop-sawn veneers out of a solid piece of wood. The bandsaw is the perfect tool for resawing.

An important part of the process of resawing is getting the fence parallel to the blade - which leads to the Shop Tip. To adjust the bandsaw fence perfectly parallel to the blade, set the fence at the needed distance from the blade and clamp or lock it down. Then with a thin scrap that has a straight edge, turn on the saw and make a short 1/2” long test cut in the scrap with the straight edge held tight against the fence. 

Next, move the scrap up higher on the fence to approximately the height of the piece you’re planning on resawing. With the scrap again held tightly against the fence, make another test cut in the same saw kerf, but only about 1/4” long. If the fence and blade are parallel, the 2nd shorter cut will follow exactly in the previously cut saw kerf and you’re ready to move on to the actual workpiece. If however, the 2nd cut is slightly outside the original saw kerf (making it wider), the fence may be shimmed or the bandsaw table tilted slightly to correct the slight error. The fence can be shimmed using a couple of layers of blue painter’s tape along one underside edge of the fence and reclamped to the table.

This careful, but easy checking and adjustment really helps when making shop-sawn veneers. If the fence is left a little out of parallel, the resulting veneers will be slightly tapered across their width, which usually results in getting fewer veneers out of the plank. Multiplied times 10 or 11 veneers, the small error adds up quickly.